Device and system to facilitate remote customer-service

ABSTRACT

A device and system for providing customer-service over the Internet via remote browser control, text communication and two-way audio/one-way video link is disclosed. A user at a customer workstation accesses the system through a network, such as the Internet. The user is then identified by a queue manager. The queue manager then queries a customer database to determine which operators previously communicated with the user and the nature of the information previously requested. The queue manager then connects the user with operators with which the user previously communicated with. The user communicates with the operators by sending information by means of text, audio and/or video. Generally, video signals will only be sent one way from the operator to the customer. During the idle time while the user is waiting for an operator, the queue manager sends information to the user in the form of text audio and/or video relating to information which the user previously requested. The call can also be transferred from one operator to another over the data network.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.09/671,680 filed Sep. 28, 2000 and entitled “Device and System toFacilitate Remote Customer-Service”.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a device, system and process for facilitatingremote customer service. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to a data transfer device to facilitate communication between aplurality of users and a plurality of human customer servicerepresentatives using text, audio, video and workspace remote-controlmechanisms to improve the human-to-human aspect of the customer serviceexperience.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the competitive market of internet services, from book selling tobanking, from furniture selling to tax advice, customer confusion usingweb-tools is a large source of lost revenue. Customers engaged inonline-transactions will often find themselves confused, or in doubt asto the meaning or purpose of part of the process they are following.Customers unable to instantaneously find the answers they need in orderto continue will often simply cancel their transaction, or look forservices or product elsewhere. In the past, solutions such as one-clickshopping, have been proposed to reduce the confusion of filling outforms by simplifying the process. However, in some specific fields, suchas tax services, the process by its very nature cannot be simplified. Inthese fields, searchable online text-help has been proposed. While thesesystems aid internet-literate customers with common problems, it oftenalienates novice internet users and trepidatious customers. Thesecustomers generally require human help which may be provided via amultimedia call center.

A call center is a business entity that provides a pool of trained calloperators answering telephone queries of a similar nature. Call centersinclude specialized software to pool the body of knowledge upon whichhelp is offered, and to allow call operators to provide consistent,accurate, helpful information instantly. A multimedia call center is anextension of the above, adding a plurality of access means. Included ina multi-media call center are video-conferencing, so that the calloperator and customer can view each other's images. Additionally,multimedia call centers include a remote-control method so that thecustomer and an operator can collaborate on web-navigation, data-entry,and walk-through various scenarios together. Multimedia adds theforegoing, as well as a process by which to synchronize and queue thevarious components such that the video, telephone and remote-controlnetwork connections are directed to the appropriate call operatorsimultaneously.

A multimedia call center overcomes some of the customer difficultiesmentioned above. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,762 to Sonesh, forinstance, discloses such a multimedia call center. However, despite theobvious advantages of a multimedia call center over previous methods forproviding customer help online, there are several disadvantages to thecurrent technology.

One of the disadvantages to the existing technology arises out of theconcept of a pool of help operators. Non-multimedia help sessions, wherethe customer hears the call operator's voice, but does not see theoperator, results in a level of impersonal service, such that thecustomer and operator develop very little rapport. To the customer, theoperator is an anonymous agent of the company or service they arecalling. As a result, call centers treat the operators in an operatorpool as equal resources, and attach no specific benefit to a customertalking to one operator over another. In the multimedia system, wherethe customer can view the operator, there is a very large element ofrapport that comes into play. The customer perception will change, andthe customer will think of the operator as an individual. The customerwill experience an increased level of comfort and confidence when thatrapport has been developed. The customer-operator rapport is potentiallyone of the key benefits of using video technology in a multimedia callcenter application.

However, customer-operator rapport takes time to develop. In fact, thecustomer operator rapport may take more than one call to establish.Furthermore, the customer-operator rapport will be strengthened witheach subsequent call for a customer to the same operator. However, thisviolates one of the basic precepts of existing call queuing systems,namely that all call operators are equivalent. Existing queue managementsystems cannot take this into account, but rather simply send a customerto one of the operators in the pool each time a customer calls. As aresult, there is a need in the prior art for a system and method for theability of a customer to access the same operator each time they make acall.

A further disadvantage of existing queue management techniques inexisting multimedia call center technology is that operator queues aremanaged in terms of the companies for which help service is beingoffered, rather than being centered around the customer-operatorrelationship. As stated above, the rapport developed between an operatorand a user is a very powerful means of gaining user trust. Due to theabsence of the concept of rapport in existing call center domains, callcenter queue management has centered on means of pooling help operatorsaround a help database for a particular company. Since in previousmodels, the operator was anonymous and generic, the central helpdatabase—the repository of knowledge used by operators to help usersduring calls—became the object around which the model was built.Therefore, prior art queue management techniques suffered for thedisadvantage that they were focussed around the central help database,rather than the customer.

Another disadvantage of the existing technology is that videoconferencing means employed do not take into account optimizations whichcan be made for one-way conferencing. Multimedia call centers treatmultimedia calls as two way communication in the same manner as theirprecursor telephone calls. However, while the customer and operator mustengage in two-way communication, there is very little value added whenthe operator can see the customer. First, the rapport generated betweenthe customer and operator is intended for the customer's benefit, soseeing the customer does not help the operator. Secondly, the operatormust access knowledge-based software and perform remote-controlfunctions to facilitate explanations to the customer, whicheffectiveness would be lessened by the presence of a video feed from thecustomer. Thirdly, customer privacy is impinged by the use of a customerto operator video feed. Finally, customers do not tend to own videoacquisition devices to supply the video feed. As a result, the desiredmechanism for video transfer is one-way-only. Due to this limitation, anumber of performance enhancements can be made to the system to takeadvantage of this condition.

Another disadvantage of the existing technology is that during thecustomer idle time, as the customer's call has been initiated, and thequeue management system is locating and queuing the operator, there isno mechanism to use the captured customer data to help retain thecustomer during the wait period.

A further disadvantage of the existing technology as it applies to theremote control aspect of multimedia call center systems, is thatexisting remote-control applications allow the operator access to theentire user desktop. The user's entire computer becomes accessible tothe operator, whereas only the portion enclosed in the web-browser hasrelevance to the help call. Access to the entire desktop represents asecurity compromise that may cause many would-be-users to avoid themultimedia call center service, on grounds that relinquishing control ofthe desktop is too great a risk, or a violation of security policy.

A further disadvantage of the existing technology in the domain ofremote control, applies to the possibility of intercepted communicationsbetween the user and the operator. A scenario exists in the currenttechnology whereby a third-party can intercept and monitor theapplication under remote-control, thereby violating the privacy of theuser. A further scenario exists whereby a malicious third-party mayinsert control imperatives into the communication channel between userand operator, and cause unwanted activity on the user's and operator'ssystem, thereby compromising the security of both.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to at least partiallyovercome the disadvantages of the prior art. Also, it is an object ofthis invention to provide an improved type of device, system and processto facilitate remote customer service by increasing the rapport betweena customer service representative and a customer. It is also an objectof this invention to provide a device system and process which moreefficiently utilizes the idle time during which a customer is waitingfor an operator.

Accordingly, in one of its objects, the present invention resides in amultimedia telecommunication system said telecommunication systemconnecting a customer with one of a plurality of operators, said systemcomprising: a queue management device for connecting said customers toone of said plurality of operators; a database for storing customerinformation including an indication of which operators in the pool ofoperators communicated with specific customers in the past; wherein upona customer accessing the multi-media telecommunications system, thequeue management device determines which operator in the pool ofoperators the customer communicated with previously and sends a firstsignal to the customer identifying the previous operator.

In a further aspect, the present invention resides in A process forconnecting a customer with one of a plurality of operators, said processcomprising the steps of: (a) identifying the customer; (b) determiningwhich operators in the pool of operators the customer communicated withpreviously; and (c) if the customer previously communicated with aprevious operator, connecting the customer with the previous operator.

Accordingly, in one aspect, this invention provides a database whichassociates previous customers of the service with the operator whoprovided the service. The database creates an affinity between thecustomer and any previous operator they may have used, such that, wherepossible, the customer will be given a choice to wait for the sameoperator who previously provided service or be connected with a newoperator. The queuing mechanism makes use of customer identification andthe database to make the association. The queuing mechanism will alsogive repeat customers to the same operator priority in the queues.

In this way, the present invention facilitates remote customer service,in part, by connecting repeat customers with the previous operator. Inthis way, rapport will develop between the customer and operator.Furthermore, even if a customer develops a rapport with an operatorduring one call, this rapport will be strengthened over time if thecaller can speak with the same operator in the future. Furthermore, acustomer who deals with the same operator over multiple calls will enjoythe benefits of the rapport without having to re-develop a rapport witha different operator for each call. In addition, if the same operatorhandles subsequent calls for the customer, the operator can use theconnection to ask follow-up questions on the results of the previouscall, in a manner which will help re-establish rapport very quickly.

A further advantage of the present invention is that the central helpdata base can be replaced with an operator-user data base which make theoperator-user relationship the central concept. The queue management canbe refined to select an operator previously used by a user, across apool of operators for several client companies. In this way,operator-client rapport can be improved thereby facilitating remotecustomer services.

A further advantage of this invention is to make optimizations for theefficient and effective delivery of two-way audio/one-way video streamfrom the operator to the customer. The optimizations shall add realismto the portrayal of the operator via the audio/video medium.Furthermore, the user sees visual symbols identifying the status of thelink, so that any missed frames, or delayed video frames will not bemistaken for operator inactivity.

Still a further advantage of this invention is to provide a queuemanagement mechanism which allows the company or individual offering theservice to customize the audio/video information displayed while theuser waits for the operator. In part, this is arranged by the queuemanagement system associating the customer identification with otheraspects of customer service. For example, in a company scenario, acustomer waiting for help with an income-tax form from a tax consultingfirm, may see audio/video advertising the consulting firm's otherservices. In the case of an individual, such as a customer waiting toconnect to an operator running an auction at a web-auction site, thecustomer may see information about the operators other auctions at thatsite. The contents of the audio/video stream encountered during the waitfor operator period may be varied according to other customerinformation, such as income level, or other non-customer associateddata, such as time of day, day of year, etc.

A further advantage of the present invention is that if the customerselects to wait for service, the established video feed to the customercan be used to provide the customer with topics, advice, or advertising,in full-video, relating to the service or system they are requestinghelp on, and relating to further environmental conditions, such as timeof day, or local weather. The topics can also be queued to correspond toservices that the customer may be interested in based on previousinformation collected on the customer. Furthermore, in addition toone-way video feeds, the link can be used for interactive customeractivity, including, customer identification, completion of customersurveys, customer feedback on service, and other customer-drivenactivities.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a means for theoperator and user to view the same browser information, without openingup the user's entire desktop or computer to the operator. This type ofdevice and system provides a large security advantage over existingsystems. The device and system allows the operator to have control andaccess only to a viewable portion of the user's web browser program ordevice. The activities of the user outside of the browser viewable areawould not be known to the operator. Similarly, the operator will have noability to influence the customer's desktop or computer or device, apartfrom the visible area of the browser.

It is a further object of this invention to allow the customer tocontinue work unimpeded once the call request has been queued. That is,once the customer has chosen to wait for an operator, and has beeninformed of the expected queue time, the customer can continue to usethe browser to go on to other activities. When the operator isavailable, the queuing system will provide the operator means tonavigate the user's browser back to the point where the call is made.This mechanism allows to user to spend the idle time in productive orleisurely activities at the customers discretion. The customer'ssatisfaction is heightened by not being forced to wait idly, as withexisting multi-media call center technology.

It is a further object of this invention to allow customers equippedwith standard browsers to enjoy access to the service without the needfor software installation. Existing technology relies on videotransmission and remote-control software that forces the user to installthe software on their system before making use of the service. For mostcustomers, the installation step is a large detraction at least becauseit asks the customer to execute potentially untrusted software on theircomputer, it asks the customer to configure and setup a softwareapplication, it often forces the customer to restart their computer, andit delays the customer's access to the service. For many potentialcustomers, the installation step is not possible because, they either donot have permission to install software for corporate security reasons,or they use a non-standard operating system, such as a UNIX derivativeor MacOS. By contrast, the present invention uses the java runtimecomponent of a standard browser to provide the remote-control, theaudio/video, the two-way text, and all other aspects of the client-siderequirements to allow the customer to use the service without installingsoftware.

Further aspects of the invention will become apparent upon reading thefollowing detailed description and drawings which illustrate theinvention and preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic drawing of a system comprising a queuemanagement device according to one embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart drawing of a queue management method accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system, shown generally by reference numeral 20,according to one embodiment of the present invention. The system 20manages customers or users seeking information from representatives offirms or companies.

A customer or user can access the system 20 by using a customerworkstation, shown generally by reference numeral 206. The customerworkstation 206 can comprise a generic workstation, which is connectableto a data network 201.

Likewise, the representatives for the firms or companies, which will bereferred to as operators, will also have workstations, illustrated inFIG. 1 as operator workstations 207. The operator workstations 207 cancomprise a generic workstation, which is connectable to a data network201. In general, there will be a plurality of workstations 207, namelyone operator workstation 207 for each operator that can be active at agiven time.

The data network 201, maybe the Internet, an intranet, a combination ofthe two, or another network topology. The customer workstation 206 andoperator workstations 207 will comprise tools for accessing the network201. For example, in the case where the workstations 206, 207 is theInternet, the network 201 will comprise an Internet browser.

Upon the customer accessing the system 20 to request informationrepresentatives of the firm or companies, the customer will be forwardedto a queue manager 202 for processing. The initial task of the queuemanager 202 will be to identify the customer. This can be done in anumber of ways, as is known in the art. For example, a customer can beidentified through standard methods, such as the use of browser cookies.Furthermore, this system may comprise an account and passwordauthentication system. Another method of identifying the customer whichmay be used is a customer survey as provided via the java runtimecomponents.

Once the customer has been identified, the queue manager 202 thengathers data for determining the operator base from which to service thecustomer. In particular, the queue manager 202 will consult customerinformation databases 208, to find previous access information about thecustomer, such as, but not limited to, previous topics covered,operators who provided service in the past, average call length andprepaid service levels. The database 208 may also comprise othercustomer provided data such as income level, gender, and other personalinformation.

The queue manager 202 will also consult the operator informationdatabase 209, to determine operators qualified to deliver service, andoperators currently registered as available to deliver service. Inaddition, the queue management system will consult service configurationdatabase 210 to determine what type of service is being sought, whatoperators are available to provide the service, any special customerdata that must be collected prior to establishing service, (for exampleprior registration for the service or a serial number for a purchasedproduct), and other service information such as availability by time ofday, day of week, or other factors.

In order to increase the rapport between customers and operators, thequeue manager 202 will give preference to operators which the customercommunicated with previously. In other words, when the queue manager 202consults the customer information database 208, the queue manager 202will also become aware of whether or not the customer has previouslyaccessed the system 20, and if so, the operator who communicated withthis customer in the past. The queue manager 202 will then select theoperator which the customer communicated with previously as the operatorto whom the customer will be connected with at present.

Assuming the operator which the customer communicated with previously isactive, meaning that the operator is available, the queue manager 202will send a first signal Si to the customer workstation 206 identifyingthe previous operator. In the preferred embodiment, the customer willnow be given the opportunity to accept or reject the previous operator.

The customer may accept or reject previous operators by generating acustomer signal Sc at the customer workstation 206 either accepting orrejecting the previous operator. Clearly, if the customer did not have afavourable experience with the previous operator in the past, thecustomer will be free to send a customer signal Sc which rejects theprevious operator. The queue manager 202 will then select an alternateoperator. If, however, the customer had a favourable experience with theprevious operator, the customer can send a customer signal Sc whichaccepts the previous operator. The queue manager 202 will then connectthe customer with the previous operator. In this way, the rapportbetween the customer and previous operator can be further strengthened.Furthermore, if the customer's question relates to an issue with whichthe customer communicated with the previous operator, the previousoperator may recall the communication, thereby permitting the customerto dispense with a great deal of background discussion.

In the preferred embodiment, the first signal Si identifying theprevious operator will also comprise an estimate of the idle time thecustomer will be required to wait until the previous operator isavailable. In this way, even if the customer had a favourable experiencewith the previous operator, if the idle time is too great for thecustomer, the customer may send a customer signal Sc rejecting theprevious operator in favour of an operator who would be available morequickly. If the customer generates a customer signal Sc rejecting theprevious operator, then the queue manager 202 will select an alternateoperator.

Whenever the customer sends a customer signal Sc rejecting an operator,the queue manager 202 will select an alternate operator by determiningwhich operator, other than the previous operator, the customercommunicated with previously. The queue manager 202 will then generateand send a second signal S₂ to the customer identifying the alternateoperator.

The queue manager 202 may select the previous operator, as well as thealternate operator, in a number of ways. For example, if the customerhas accessed the system 20 several times in the past, the queue manager202 may rank the operators which the customer communicated with in thepast. The operators may be ranked by the queue manager 202 determiningwhich operator the customer has communicated with the most number oftimes in the past. In this way, the previous operator will be theoperator which has communicated with the customer the most number oftimes. The alternate operator, and other operators, will then be rankedby the number of times that they have communicated with the customer.The alternate operators will then be selected and proposed to thecustomer based on their ranking.

In another embodiment, the queue manager 202 may determine the previousoperator by determining which operator the customer communicated withimmediately previously, regardless of the number of times the customercommunicated with that operator. In this embodiment, the likelihood thatthe previous operator has background knowledge of the matter thecustomer is presently seeking information on would be much greaterbecause the customer may have a follow up question relating to the samematter. Similarly, the alternate operator, and other operators, wouldthen be ranked not by the number of times they communicated with thecustomer, but rather the length of time since the customer communicatedwith the operator in the past.

It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that other manners ofranking the operators in order to determine the previous operator andalternate operators are also possible. However, it has been found thatranking the operators by the number of times they have communicated withthe customer, and, the time that has passed since the customercommunicated with the operator, are the most efficient and provide thebest rapport between the customer and operator. Furthermore, the methodof ranking the operators can be configured and changed by anadministrator in real time to meet specific requirements.

Until such time as the connection between the operator and customer hasbeen made, which time period is often referred to as idle time, thequeue manager 202 provides information to the customer. The informationprovided to the customer can be information in the nature of generalinterest information such as news, weather, etc., to keep the customerinterested during the idle time. In a preferred embodiment, however, theinformation provided to the customer during the idle time will berelated to the information previously requested by the customer. In thisembodiment, the queue manager 202 will determine from the database 208what information the customer previously requested.

Since the queue manager 202 has access to all aspects of the customerdata, service data, and operator data through the customer database, thecustomization of the video/audio stream can be determined on a very finegranularity. The queue manager 202 will then provide to the customerduring the idle time information relating to information the customerpreviously requested. The queue manager 202 can accomplish this in oneembodiment by selecting and providing audio/video streaming ofinformation, advertising, or programming relating to information thecustomer previously requested.

Sources for audio/video data include audio/video data servers 205 whichprovide streaming data in conjunction with an archive 204, where thedata is stored. The audio/video data services 205 provide audio/visualdata based on the signals provided by queue manager 202. An example ofarchive data might be a set of videos advertising an operator/serviceprovider's auctions at an auction site (in this example the servicebeing asked is relevant to online auctions). Another potential source ofdata is an online audio/video stream from the audio/video streamstreaming server, the audio/video archive 204 and the audio/video dataserver 205, such as a news program or advertising stream. In oneembodiment, the information may be provided in exchange for revenue.

As stated above, it is understood that the data network 201 may be anytype of network having any type of topology. In particular, while inFIG. 1, the data network 201 is shown as being a single network betweeneach of the elements 202 to 210, it is understood that the data network201 may actually comprise several different networks.

For example, the customer at the workstation 206 may connect to thesystem 20 through the Internet. The system 20 may then have an intranetto which the queue manager 202, the operator workstations 207, thecustomer information database 208, the operator information database 209and the service configuration database 210 are connected. In a similarmanner, the audio/video streaming server 203, the audio/video archive204 and the audio/video data server 205 may also be connected to thesame intranet as the queue manager 202. Alternatively, if the queuemanager 202 is being provided by a contract or service, the queuemanager 202, the customer information database 208, the operatorinformation database 209 and the service configuration database 210 maybe a separate intranet located at the service provider, while theaudio/video streaming server 203, the audio/video archive 204 and theaudio/video data server 205 may be connected to a separate intranetlocated remotely from the queue manager 202 and proximate the firm orcompany to whom the queue manager 202 is providing the service.

Likewise, the operator workstations 207 may form part of the firm orcompany, and may be connected by the Internet to the audio/videostreaming server 203, the audio/video archive 204 and audio/video server205, or may be part of the service provided by the queue manager 202. Inthe further alternative, the operator workstations 207 may be part of aseparate entity or firm providing operators on a contract basis to thequeue manager 202 and/or the firm or company in which case the operatorworkstations 207 may be located remotely from all other elements in thesystem.

It is also understood that the data network 201 can provide any type ofinformation. For instance, the information may comprise data in the formof text, audio signals and/or video signals. It is also understood thatthe nature of the information being provided will be dependent upon thetools present at the customer workstations 206, as well as the operatorworkstations 207. For instance, if the customer workstations 206 do nothave tools to facilitate audio and/or video transmission, theinformation will be provided in text only. However, it is understoodthat the nature of the communication between the customer and theoperator will be any type of information which can facilitate the remotecustomer service, and, increase or improve the human-to-human aspect andrapport of the customer service experience.

Regardless, of the type of data network 201, it is understood that thedata network will preferably have strong encryption such that anysignals and/or data transmitted from the customer workstation 206 to thesystem 20, including the queue manager 202 and the operator workstation207, and will be protected from unauthorized interception by thirdparties. Likewise, communication between the queue manager 202 and otherelements of the system 20, such as the customer database 208, theoperator information database 209 and the service configuration database210, may also be encrypted to the extent the communication takes placeon a non-restricted access network, such as the Internet.

In a preferred embodiment, the operator workstations 207 will comprise avideo unit 211. The video unit 211 will capture video images from theoperator at the operator workstation 207. The video images can thentransmitted to the customer workstation 206 for viewing by the customer.It has been found that video images in the reverse direction, namelyfrom the customer to the operator, are not as important. Therefore,video transmission from the customer workstation 206 to the operatorwill generally not be provided. This is the case because rapport withthe customer at the customer workstation 206 is generally facilitated bythe customer viewing the operator, rather than the operator viewing thecustomer. Furthermore, customer workstations 206 may not have a customervideo unit (not shown) to facilitate capturing and sending video imagesfrom the customer to the operator workstation 207. Furthermore, theoperator at the operator workstation 207 may have several images beingdisplayed on their workstation, including data information on thecustomer, such that space on the operator's display to view the customermay not be worthwhile.

Once the customer accepts an operator and the operator becomesavailable, the queue manager 202 will connect the customer with theoperator by connecting the customer's workstation 206 with theoperator's workstation 207. The customer and the operator can thencommunicate to assist the customer with the customer's queries and/ororders. At the conclusion of the communication, the customer may simplydisconnect from the network 201 and the operator workstation 207,thereby ending the communication.

However, if the customer has further questions regarding a topic theoperator is unfamiliar with, the operator transfers the customer back tothe queue manager 202 with an indication of the nature of the customer'sfurther queries. The queue manager 202 will then place the customer in anew queue for an operator or subset of operators which can assist thecustomer with the further subject matter. At this time, the queuemanager 202 may also determine from the database if the customerpreviously communicated with an operator regarding the further topicand, if so, connect the customer with this previous operator.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart 400 illustrating a queue management processaccording to one embodiment of the invention. As illustrated in FIG. 2,in the initial step 410, a user connects to the system 20 using astandard browser. At step 402 the queue manager 202 then determines thecapabilities of the customer workstation 206. For example, where thecustomer workstation 206 uses a web browser to connect through theInternet, the queue manager 202 uses standard HTTP protocol connectionhandshaking to determine the browser capabilities of the user'sworkstation 206. The queue manager 202 then selects the java runtimecomponents best suited to the browser that the customer's workstation206 is using to provide delivery of two-way audio/one-way video, two-waytext, as well as remote control capabilities of the user workstation.These runtime components are uploaded to the browser of the user'sworkstation 206 as java classes at step 403.

The queue manager 202 identifies the customer at step 404. Methods toidentify the customer include standard methods described above, such asuse of browser cookies, account and password authentication, andcustomer survey as provided via the java runtime components. In somecases, the provider of the system 20 may wish to allow anonymous accessto the system 20, in which case, user information is not collected, andthe user is not identified.

The queue manager 202 then identifies the appropriate operator oroperator queue for the service being requested at step 405. In the casewhere the service is managed or supported by a single operator, such asin the case of an online auction where the seller is an individual, thenthe queue is limited to a single operator.

In the case where the customer data is available, and the customer haspreviously used the system, then the queue is limited to the operatorsmost recently used by the customer. The exact meaning of “recent” isconfigurable, and may depend on the type of service requested in thepast and at present by the customer, the customer preference, customerpriority, and other factors. In the case that a pool of operators isselected, whether two or more, control flows to step 410.

If a single operator is selected, flow continues to step 406. If theoperator desired is currently active, which means that the operator isservicing calls, and has registered with the queue manager 202 asactive, then control flows to step 409. In the event that the operatoris not active, for example, they are at lunch, and disconnected from thequeue manager 202, then the queue manager 202 looks for an alternateoperator, or pool of operators shown by step 407. This would occur, forexample, if a second-time customer was using a service, and the originaloperator was not available. If no alternate is available, the queuemanager 202 finds an appropriate video stream to queue to the user (seestep 408). In the event the operator becomes active while customers arereceiving streaming audio/video at step 408, all such customers willenter a priority-sequence queue for service from the operator, and moveto step 409.

Once the customer has entered either a queue for a pool of operators, ora queue for a single operator, the single operator or pool of operatorsas well as the average wait or idle time will be identified to thecustomer at step 409 by the queue manager 202 generating and sending thefirst signal S₁ to the customer workstation 206. The wait or idle timeis determined based on a number of factors, including average calllength, pool factors such as number of operators in the pool, customerfactors, such as priority, service level purchased, or position in thequeue, and environmental factors, such as time of day, day of week.

The queue manager 202 also selects and queues appropriate audio/videomaterial for the wait period at step 411. The audio/video material mayemanate from a number of sources, including the audio/video streamingserver 203, the audio/video archive 204 and the audio/video data server205. Preferably, as described above, the audio/video material willrelate to information previously requested by the customer, as describedabove.

At regular intervals, or by customer initiated query, the system willcheck to see if an operator is available at step 412. At this time, anew first signal S₁ may be sent showing the revised estimate idle time.

If, at any time, the customer sends a customer signal Sc reflecting theoperator or pool of operators, the queue manager 202 will select analternate operator at step 420. A second signal S₂ will then be sentfrom the queue manager 202 to the customer workstation 206 identifyingthe alternate operator and the estimated idle time for the alternateoperator.

If during the wait, whether for a single operator, or pool of operators,an operator becomes available, control flows to step 413. The operatorinformation is presented to the customer for approval. In the event thatthe customer was waiting for a specific operator, and not a pool, thecustomer assent is assumed, and control flows to step 414.

If the customer was waiting for a specific operator, and anotheroperator became available able to provide the service, and the customerwas next in priority-sequence, the queue manager 202 may propose thealternate operator to the customer. The customer will be presented withsummary information about the operator, and provided they choose so in atimely manner, will be serviced by that operator. If the customerdeclines, or does not respond, they will resume waiting for the specificoperator or a pool of operators.

It is understood that although workstations 207 have been referred to as“operator” workstations 207, these workstations are not limited to“operators”. Rather, any representative of a firm or company, includingemployees and executives, may have an operator workstation 207 foranswering requests from customers. In other words, the operatorworkstations are not limited to help desks or call centers, but rathercan be used by any representative of a firm or company.

It is also understood that the customer workstations 206 may be any typeof device which an connect a user to the system 20 through a datanetwork 201. In particular, the customer workstations 206 may be apersonal computer executing a web browser, as well as wireless devicescommunicating data through a network, a computing device located at akiosk, an automated teller machine, or a computer connected to anotherdevice, such as an appliance or an automobile. It is also understoodthat the data and signals will have a format appropriate to the device.For example, in the case of a personal computer, the web browser maysend and receive data and signals using hyper text transfer protocol(http).

It will be understood that, although various features of the inventionhave been described with respect to one or another of the embodiments ofthe invention, the various features and embodiments of the invention maybe combined or used in conjunction with other features and embodimentsof the invention as described and illustrated herein.

Although this disclosure has described and illustrated certain preferredembodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not restricted to these particular embodiments. Rather, the inventionincludes all embodiments which are functional, electrical or mechanicalequivalents of the specific embodiments and features that have beendescribed and illustrated herein.

1. A multimedia telecommunication system said telecommunication systemconnecting a customer with one of a plurality of operators, said systemcomprising: a queue management device for connecting said customers toone of said plurality of operators; a database for storing customerinformation including an indication of which operators in the pool ofoperators communicated with specific customers in the past; wherein upona customer accessing the multi-media telecommunications system, thequeue management device determines which operator in the pool ofoperators the customer communicated with previously and sends a firstsignal to the customer identifying the previous operator.
 2. The systemas defined in claim 1 wherein the first signal also comprises anestimate of idle time the customer will be required to wait until theprevious operator is available.
 3. The system as defined in claim 2wherein the queue management device gives the customer an opportunity toaccept or reject the previous operator; and wherein when the customerrejects the previous operator, the queue management device will selectan alternate operator for the customers.
 4. The system as defined inclaim 3 wherein the queue management device selects an alternateoperator by determining which operators, other than the previousoperator, the customer communicated with previously and the queuemanagement device sends a second signal to the customer identifying thealternate operator.
 5. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein if thecustomer has previously communicated with more than one operator, thequeue management device determines the previous operator by determiningwhich operator the customer has communicated with the most number oftimes.
 6. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein if the customer haspreviously communicated with more than one operator, the queuemanagement device determines the previous operator by determining whichoperator the customer communicated with immediately previously.
 7. Thesystem as defined in claim 2 wherein the database includes an indicationof information the customer previously requested; and wherein during theidle time, the queue management device forwards to the customerinformation related to the information the customer previouslyrequested.
 8. The system as defined in claim 1, further comprisingcommunication devices for facilitating communication between operatorsand the customer.
 9. The system as defined in claim 8 wherein thecommunication devices include a video camera located at an operatorworkstation permitting video data to be sent from the operator to thecustomer.
 10. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the queuemanagement device determines within the pool of operators a sub-pool ofoperators which the customer communicated with previously and sends afirst signal to the customer identifying the sub-pool of operators; andwherein the customer will be placed in a queue to communicate with anoperator in the sub-pool of operators.
 11. A process for connecting acustomer with one of a plurality of operators, said process comprisingthe steps of: (a) identifying the customer; (b) determining whichoperators in the pool of operators the customer communicated withpreviously; and (c) if the customer previously communicated with aprevious operator, connecting the customer with the previous operator.12. The process as defined in claim 11 further comprising the steps of:(d) generating a first signal identifying the previous operator and anestimate of idle time the customer will be required to wait until theprevious operator is available; (e) sending the first signal to thecustomer; and (f) giving the customer an opportunity to accept or rejectthe previous operator.
 13. A process as defined in claim 12 furthercomprising the step of: (g) if the customer rejects the previousoperator, selecting an alternate operator for the customer.
 14. Theprocess as defined in claim 13 wherein step (g) of selecting analternate operator comprises the sub-steps of: (g1) determining whichoperators, other than the previous operator, the customer communicatedwith previously and selecting the alternate operator from otheroperators the customer communicated with previously; (g2) generating asecond signal identifying the alternate operator and an estimate of idletime the customer will be required to wait until the alternate operatoris available; and (g3) giving the customer an opportunity to accept orreject the alternate operator.
 15. The process as defined in claim 11wherein the step (b) of determining which operators in the pool ofoperators the customer communicated with previously comprises thesub-step of: (b1) if the customer has previously communicated with morethan one operator, determining the previous operator by determiningwhich operator the customer has communicated with the most number oftimes.
 16. The process as defined in claim 11 wherein the step (b) ofdetermining which operators in the pool of operators the customercommunicated with previously comprises the sub-step of: (b1) if thecustomer has previously communicated with more than one operator,determining the previous operator by determining which operator thecustomer communicated with immediately previously.
 17. The process asdefined in claim 11 wherein step (c) of connecting the customer with theprevious operator if the customer previously communicated with anoperator comprises the sub-steps of: (c1) if the customer previouslycommunicated with more than one operator, determining within the pool ofoperators a sub-pool of operators which the customer communicated withpreviously; and (c2) placing the customer in a queue to communicate withan operator in the sub-pool of operators.
 18. The process as defined inclaim 12 further comprising the steps of: (h) if the customer previouslycommunicated with an operator, determining what information the customerpreviously requested; (i) during the idle time, forwarding informationregarding the previous information to the customer.
 19. The processdefined in claim 11 wherein the customer communicates with the operatorin a format including at least one of two-way text data, two-way audiodata and one-way video data from the operator to the customer.
 20. Thesystem as defined in claim 1 wherein the queue management device givesthe customer an opportunity to accept or reject the previous operator;and wherein when the customer accepts the previous operator, the queuemanagement device connects a workstation operated by the customer with aworkstation operated by the previous operator.
 21. The system as definedin claim 20 wherein once the customer has concluded communicating withthe previous operator, the previous operator can return the customer tothe queue manager for connection to another operator.